Thursday, January 31, 2008

Why ethesis.blogspot.com

I blog at several places, for different reasons at each place, as well as owning a four letter domain that runs about twelve thousand hits a day. A check at sitemeter shows that this blog gets probably 120 hits or less a day. My primary topic, grief and relationship issues, also draws the fewest hits and some of the nastiest trolling.

It is tempting to slide off to other topics. Posting on the Shangri-la diet will double visitors or more. Certain kinds of posts will do the same thing. But I'm most likely to get e-mails or feedback that I've helped others who have suffered grief, especially the loss of a child, from the grief related posts.

I started the precursor to this blog (before there were blogs) as an on-line journal so people who knew me and wanted updates had some place to go. It gave me a measure of control. When that wasn't necessary, I was going to stop writing, and that resulted from contacts from people who were places I had been and found it helpful (like I had found it helpful) to read someone else's experience and comments.

So I kept writing.

I found that the religion posts, which I enjoy, drew page views and attention (and one even made a "best of" competition), but most parents who have lost children don't seem to want a religion specific theology discussion. So I scaled back on those and then was lucky enough to find a place to group blog on various matters.

As for my lame pet troll (I've got only one)? So jejune. A thin and insipid coward, he reminds me to try to do better. While he tempts me to leave his posts up because they draw attention and sympathy, but I don't need that, it is only a distraction.

1 comment:

I read some of your shorter posts in Google Reader, without ever coming to your site. Does that show up as a hit? Either way, I guess that now you know that I subscribe to your blog (one of only about 10).

Oh, and for what it's worth, I understand that a grieving parent would find comfort from your posts, but I am not a grieving parent. Still, there is a peace that pervades everything you write, and that is what keeps me coming back. So keep it coming!